Syracuse, NY -- When an old friend and colleague told Arlene Balestra-Marko that he had contracted HIV after being raped in a park in Washington D.C., she told him she would do everything in her power to help.

Her friend, Jeffrey Wilson, later asked her for a $2,000 loan. Wilson said he needed to pay back "dangerous people" who had loaned him money that he used to pay for life-saving experimental drug treatments.

Balestra-Marko didn't hesitate, but after she loaned him the money, she lost contact with him.

Her account mirrors that of several other former friends of Wilson's. They call themselves the "Investment Club."

A dozen members of the club, composed primarily of special education teachers and their husbands, say they loaned or gave Wilson, of 703 Dewitt Street, thousands of dollars apiece from 2009 to 2012.

Wilson, 46, was the director of special education at OCM BOCES in Solvay. He asked his friends and employees to keep his confidence after he revealed that he had HIV and needed money for treatment, they say.

Jeffrey Wilson

Wilson is now accused by the Onondaga County District Attorney's Office of swindling his former friends out of $25,000 to $30,000. He is charged with felony "scheming to defraud," which is punishable by up to four years in prison.

"It's the people's theory of prosecution that (Jeffrey) Wilson did not pay for any experimental medical treatments," said Assistant District Attorney Beth Van Doren.

Van Doren said she couldn't "comment further" when asked if Wilson had HIV or AIDS.

Wilson, through his lawyer, said that he is working toward paying the "personal loans" back to his "personal friends." His lawyer also declined to answer questions regarding Wilson's health.

More than the money, the Investment Club says it's the painful betrayal of a decades-old friend that ties them together. The group met on a Monday in September to talk about the case, and they laughed about the predicament until tears began to swell.

Wilson told most of the teachers he needed money for treatment, but his story changed when he told a subordinate he needed money to pay a second mortgage, according to the victims.

As far as the group knows, the first teacher to be approached by Wilson was Denise Ballou in August 2009. Here's Ballou's account:

As she was recovering from a surgery, Ballou's 25-year friend and boss at OCM BOCES came to her house.

"He was crying, telling me he had an illness that was life-threatening and that the typical treatments weren't working," Ballou said.

Wilson asked for $4,000 for experimental drug treatments that would keep him alive.

Wilson said he had contracted HIV and needed $5,500 for experimental drug treatment.

"I said, 'I'll give it to you if it's going to help you live,'" Dermody said. "I, too, worked under him and we had been friends for 25 years."

Once she agreed to give him the money, Wilson told her he actually needed $3,000 more. She consulted with her husband and then gave him $8,500.

"I never thought to check, to say, 'where are you going for treatment, who is your doctor,'" Dermody said. "He was like family to me, but looking back, what was I thinking?"

Wilson asked for thousands more over the next six months and paid some of the money back in installments.

"I didn't mind helping if it prolonged his life," Dermody said.

But the next year, he asked again, and had not paid off the remainder of his balance with the Dermodys. This time, he said he owed someone $1,875 and was going to be sued if he didn't come up with the money.

Dermody's husband became suspicious, and asked Wilson to sign a promissory statement. Wilson signed it, and agreed to pay them $200 a week, beginning that fall.
But on Dec. 15, 2011, the payments stopped, according to the Dermodys and records filed in Syracuse small claims court.

Wilson still owes them upwards of $11,000, they say.

Ballou, who knew about Dermody's small claims battle with Wilson, said she began to wonder if other teachers were in a similar bind. She decided to ask around and called Carolyn Halstead.

Halstead told Ballou she had already given Wilson around $3,000. Wilson's story was the same as with the others, and he had asked Halstead to "keep his confidence" about the sensitive HIV-issue, Halstead said.

However, Wilson had managed to pay the Halsteads back. And two other teachers confirmed they had received similar stories, but weren't owed any money.

Next, they thought about Balestra-Marko, a former colleague.

Balestra-Marko recalled a chilling text from Wilson in June of 2012:

"You need to call me. I'm in trouble. Please help."

When she called him, Wilson said he desperately needed money because he had taken loans from "dangerous people" and was in over his head, Balestra-Marko said.

Unbeknownst to her, this conversation took place around the time that Wilson was taken to small claims court by the Dermodys.

Lynne Stenberg, the teacher who said she loaned Wilson the most money, didn't get the same story. Here's her account:

In August of 2011, Wilson told Stenberg that he was moving and putting his house on the market.

A month later, Wilson said he needed $400 to move a shed that straddled his property line. Stenberg offered to help him do the work without him having to pay someone $400.

That's when Wilson started banging his head against the cabinets in her classroom.

A no-nonsense teacher, Stenberg said she was taken aback by Wilson's sudden temper tantrum. After he began crying and continually banging his head against cabinets and walls, she ushered him out of the classroom and told him to "go home and have a beer."

But that night, the bizarre incident weighed on Stenberg's conscience. She felt guilty for not giving Wilson the money, she said, and worried about it all night.

The next day she asked her boss if he needed a loan.

Wilson said the money would be used for a second mortgage and that when the sale of his house finalized, he would pay her back. He offered to sign a contract with her, but she told him she didn't need to go through all of that.

She trusted him.

Stenberg said she gave Wilson more money than any other member of the Investment Club, but she declined to disclose the exact amount. She took several thousand dollars out of her retirement savings account to help him, she said.

In November and December, she asked him about the loan, but he brushed her off.

"I told him I wouldn't hound him, and I didn't," she said. "I didn't know how to handle the situation."

Outside of the educational core, the Investment Club also stumbled upon an old college friend of Wilson's who had been told the same story about the HIV and need for expensive, experimental treatment.

A picture of Jeffrey Wilson from his college days.Provided by Samantha Augur

Samantha Augur said she gave Wilson $2,000 and has not received any restitution.

In late 2012, the group contacted the district attorney's office.

"We don't want him to do this to anyone else," said Ballou. "This was someone we all trusted, and that's the worst thing about it."

No one in the group knew of a drug, gambling or other addiction problem that Wilson suffered from. They say he vacationed in Australia, Hawaii, Key West and Boston during the time that he asked for the loans.

Wilson, who has since left OCM BOCES, was arrested in early July and scheduled to appear in Solvay town court on the felony fraud charge. His case was then adjourned for 90 days.

Wilson referred a reporter to his lawyer, who then asked questions be submitted via email. After the attorney, Ken Christopher, received emailed questions, which included inquiries into Wilson's health, the lawyer answered with a short statement.

"Mr. Wilson received personal loans from personal friends. He has already begun the process of paying them back and continues to work diligently toward that goal. We believe that these are civil matters that do not belong in criminal court. Due to the ongoing litigation we can offer no further response at this time."